RE: from Dr. Susan RE: PCR test and FeLV answer

[AnnLmla2]

<<<I second Nina's motion! Dr. Susan has clarified several points with
regards
to the relative merits of the various FeLV testing protocols. Of course it
still doesn't solve my dilemma of how to find out whether or not a cat who
initially tested FeLV positive on an ELISA and/or IFA may be carrying a
latent
infection without having to do and invasive, stressful and expensive bone
marrow
reactivation test. Is there any sort of test that would be less invasive
that
could do so? Could a rigidly monitored PCR test not done by a commercial
lab,
but say by a university vet school, be helpful in this regard? >>>


Latently infected cats by definition are extremely hard to detect. They will
be negative using ELISA and IFA on blood samples, and negative with IFA on
bone marrow. Could a very good PCR detect latent infection in the bone
marrow? Yes it is possible, but I would not rely on a commercial lab for
this.

The bottom line message I am trying to convey is that PCR can certainly be
used for FeLV, there is a big difference between what quality of test is
done in university research settings and what might be offered commercially.
Don't assume the quality to be equal. Commercial labs have a bottom line to
consider and they may not have the same stringency of quality control, or
attention to evaluating the efficacy of their test as in university
settings. You can indeed find scientific papers talking about the usefulness
of PCR for FeLV, but these are NOT from commercial labs. Whole different
thing.



Dr. Susan
Chapter Author, A Home Veterinary Guide, in:
The CFA Complete Cat Book
http://www.cfainc.org/catalog/books.html#completecatbook

Feline Reproduction Manual:
http://catvet.homestead.com/ReproCD.html

__^^__^^__^^__^^__^^__^^
Susan Little, DVM
Diplomate ABVP (Feline)
Bytown Cat Hospital
Ottawa, Canada
http://catvet.homestead.com
__^^__^^__^^__^^__^^__^^


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Sent: February 2, 2005 5:49 PM
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Subject: Fwd: from Dr. Susan RE: PCR test and FeLV answer





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